Chapter 326

"But what?" Ying Zheng asked.

Gu Shanhe deliberated on his words,

"But during her reign, the national strength of the Great Qing declined sharply, it was bullied by the great powers, signed a series of unequal treaties, ceded land and paid indemnities, losing sovereignty and humiliating the country."

The hall was silent again.

Then, the bullet comments exploded with world-destroying momentum—

【Bullet Comment · First Emperor of Qin Ying Zheng】

A woman, holding power for fifty years, making the country look like this, and still dares to mock a patriotic poet?

【Bullet Comment · Han Wudi Liu Che】

Ceding land and paying indemnities? Losing sovereignty and humiliating the country?!

How can my Han family's world allow foreign races to bully it?!

【Bullet Comment · Tang Taizong Li Shimin】: Great powers? What are great powers?

Gu Shanhe hurriedly explained: "They are the Western great powers, Britain, France, Germany, the United States, Japan, and other countries."

"In that era, China was backward compared to the West and was invaded by these countries in turns."

【Bullet Comment · Tang Taizong Li Shimin】:......

【Bullet Comment · Ming Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang】

My Great Ming was destroyed by the Qing Dynasty.

I endured it.

But the Qing Dynasty ended up like this?!

A woman ruined the empire like this?!

【Bullet Comment · Ming Chengzu Zhu Di】

When Zheng He went to the Western Ocean, the Great Ming navy was invincible in the world.

How many years has it been, and it's being bullied by foreigners?!

Where are the Zhu family members?! Are they all dead?!

【Bullet Comment · Ming Xuanzong Zhu Zhanji】:...... Grandfather, calm down.

【Bullet Comment · Ming Yingzong Zhu Qizhen】: That... actually I think... (bullet comment interrupted)

【Bullet Comment · Ming Xianzong Zhu Jianshen】: Father, shut up!

【Bullet Comment · Ming Xiaozong Zhu Youtang】: Empress Dowager Cixi, during your reign, did you do one thing beneficial to the country?

【Bullet Comment · Empress Dowager Cixi】: I built the Summer Palace, it's so beautiful.

【Bullet Comment · Ming Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang】: Building a garden?! The country is about to perish and you're still building a garden?!

【Bullet Comment · First Emperor of Qin Ying Zheng】: I built the Great Wall to defend against foreign enemies.

You built a garden for pleasure.

The difference is clear.

【Bullet Comment · Han Wudi Liu Che】

I fought the Xiongnu until they dared not graze horses in the south.

And you?

When foreigners came, you ceded land and paid indemnities?

You still have the face to be alive?!

【Bullet Comment · Tang Taizong Li Shimin】

I heard that later generations call you a representative of "ruining the country and harming the people," and this is not false.

【Bullet Comment · Song Taizu Zhao Kuangyin】

Although I was destroyed by the Jin Dynasty, my descendants are still resisting.

And you? Did you resist?

【Bullet Comment · Song Gaozong Zhao Gou】

Wait, I'm not the one being scolded the worst?

【Bullet Comment · Ming Yingzong Zhu Qizhen】

Emperor Zhao Gou, you are not fighting alone.

【Bullet Comment · Song Huizong Zhao Ji】

I was captured by the Jin people, which is already miserable enough.

But now I think I'm still a bit better than you.

【Bullet Comment · Empress Dowager Cixi】

You... you dead emperors, why are you scolding me?!

【Bullet Comment · First Emperor of Qin Ying Zheng】: Because I unified China.

【Bullet Comment · Han Wudi Liu Che】: Because I expanded the territory.

【Bullet Comment · Tang Taizong Li Shimin】: Because I created a prosperous age.

【Bullet Comment · Ming Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang】: Because I expelled the barbarians and restored China!

【Bullet Comment · Song Taizu Zhao Kuangyin】: Because I ended the troubled times of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms!

【Bullet Comment · Han Guangwu Liu Xiu】: Because I restored the Han family!

【Bullet Comment · Han Gaozu Liu Bang】: Because I... because I know how to eat melon seeds. Anyway, I'm better than you.

Empress Dowager Cixi's bullet comment disappeared completely, never appearing again.

In the hall, Liu Bang was triumphant.

"Although I don't have anything to show off, I know when to shut up."

Ying Zheng glanced at him: "It's rare for you to have some self-knowledge."

Liu Bang: "...... You can scold me, but don't be sarcastic."

Liu Che and Liu Xiu looked at each other, seeing the helplessness in each other's eyes.

This generation of ancestors is too hard to lead.

Li Shimin, however, was in a great mood.

"Immortal Gu, this review really opened my eyes."

"Not only did I get to know a patriotic poet like Lu You, but I also saw so many... um... weird people in later generations."

Gu Shanhe said: "Your Majesty, this is just the beginning."

"There are even more exciting things later."

Li Shimin's eyes lit up: "Oh? There's more exciting stuff?"

Gu Shanhe smiled mysteriously: "Your Majesty, just watch."

On the sky screen, the bullet comments gradually subsided.

But everyone knew this was just a temporary calm. The next review would definitely be even more exciting.

And Lu You's ten-year lifespan reward also caused a stir in the Song Dynasty court.

In Lin'an City, Song Ningzong Zhao Kuo looked at the sky screen, his face complex.

"Lu You... I know this person."

Zhao Kuo whispered to the minister beside him, "He submitted a memorial to me, asking me to launch a northern expedition."

"I... I didn't listen to him."

The minister was silent.

Zhao Kuo sighed: "Issue a decree, bestow gold silk on Lu You, bestow the title 'Wenzhong', and besides... I will personally go to Shanyin to visit Lu You."

The minister was startled: "Your Majesty, this..."

Zhao Kuo waved his hand: "An old man over eighty still thinks about recovering the Central Plains; I, as the emperor, can't be worse than an old man, right?"

The news reached Shanyin, and Lu You received the imperial decree again.

This time, he was no longer a minister kneeling to receive the decree, but a "national scholar" personally visited by the emperor.

Lu You's family was moved to tears, but Lu You himself was surprisingly calm.

He looked at the poem he wrote on the sky screen and whispered:

"On the day the royal army recovers the Central Plains, do not forget to tell your father at the family sacrifice..."

As he recited, he suddenly laughed.

"Ten years of lifespan..."

He muttered, "Heaven, you gave me ten years, so I will use these ten years to continue writing poetry, continue submitting memorials, and continue waiting."

"Wait until the day the royal army recovers the Central Plains."

Outside the window, the spring breeze of the south blew, bringing a trace of the north's breath.

Perhaps, this day will really come.

The golden light of the sky screen gradually converged, finally freezing on Lu You's portrait.

That old man in a green robe stood between the green mountains and clear waters of Shanyin, gazing toward the north.

In his eyes, there was unwillingness, obsession, hope, and relief.

He knew he wouldn't live to see that day.

But his poems would wait.

As long as there are people reading his poems, he is waiting.

Day after day, year after year, generation after generation.

Until the day the royal army recovers the Central Plains.

Gu Shanhe looked at Lu You's portrait on the sky screen, his heart filled with emotion.

He turned to look at the five emperors in the hall and found that their expressions were all different.

Ying Zheng was expressionless, but his gaze showed respect.

Liu Bang rarely didn't eat melon seeds, watching the sky screen quietly.

Liu Che crossed his arms, his face solemn.

Liu Xiu nodded slightly, as if paying tribute to Lu You.

Li Shimin let out a long breath and whispered: "Patriotic poet of the ages, Lu You, well-deserved."

Outside the hall, the sun was setting.

The light of the sky screen spilled into every corner of Chang'an City, on the faces of everyone looking up at the sky screen.

Those poems, those stories, those spirits are being passed down in another way.

And this is exactly the significance of the sky screen review.